Climb Those Broken Brick Walls
by DareToDreamBig
Summary: "And I guess eventually I had a breaking point"... "People are scared of who's different"... "I was done"... "No pain. Just nothing"... "The damage was already done."
1. Chapter 1

I guess I never knew what it felt like to be loved.

All through my years, the kids would bully me, the adults would turn their noses up in disgust, and the orphanage managers would shake their heads.

And I guess eventually I had a breaking point.

One fine spring afternoon, I was minding my own business, just eating my food, alone, during lunch.

Just like any other day. Silence. No eye contact with other students.

Everyone avoided me. I suppose I shouldn't blame them.

People are scared of who's different.

But suddenly, I hear footsteps approaching my table, at the far corner of the cafeteria.

_Isolated. _

I look up, and there is Dani Lock.

Otherwise known as the most "popular" girl in school.

Yes, I know, so stereotypical.

The popular girl bullies the loner.

Honestly, I have no clue why she chose today, the anniversary of my parents disappearance, to do what she did.

Or should I reword that.

Say what she said.

You know that little phrase your guidance counselor made you recite when you were a little kid?

'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.'

Lie.

"Look who we have here, little parentless Cameron Morgan. Not even the orphan people care about _you_. You know, you really should just disappear. Don't people usually take after their parents?" She sneered, with that snobby smirk on her flawless face.

Stupid thing to say, really.

I could've just sat there, letting her cruel words go in one ear and out the other.

I couldn't, however, keep all of my feeling bottled up, so I jumped up, grabbed my ratty backpack, and ran out the cafeteria.

Tears were threatening to spill out of my eyes.

I was done.

Done with being ignored.

Done with being put down.

Done with being judged.

Done.

Angrily, I shoved the bathroom door open.

I didn't care if it was occupied or not.

Screaming, I cracked the mirror into a million pieces, with my bare fist, feeling absolutely nothing.

No pain.

Just nothing.

Of course, people heard my banshee screeches.

And when people hear, they tell.

When they found me, they immediately transported me to the nearest hospital.

After that, I was put in a mental institution.

Or, in other words, an insane insylum.

The doctors found out I was orphaned, which could lead to serious mental problems, so they put me away before I could do any real damage.

To myself or anyone else.

But the truth is the complete opposite.

Other people are the ones who did the most damage to me.

The ones who drove me to my current state, at the time.

_The damage was already done._

_**Sorry for the short chapter. I guess this is the prologue? Oh, and don't expect romance anytime soon. I'll try to update frequently. You know, if you guys like it. I kind of already have some ideas. Please do share any suggestions. Happy reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_4 years later (Age: 16)….._

I smile. I laugh. I have friends.

But I'm still **broken. **

I'm missing something.

"Hey, Cammie, let's go to breakfast." Rebecca Baxter, otherwise known as Bex, says.

She's one of my roommates, and best friends.

Rebecca Baxter is one of the strongest girls I have ever met.

My case, compared to hers, looks and sounds like a breeze.

She was abused, not by her parents, but by her uncle, at the young age of five.

One day she just lost it.

Like me.

Just couldn't take it anymore.

On top of that, her family was poverty ridden.

All of her siblings died from cancer, or from premature birth.

And she was involved in a car accident.

But the kids at school wouldn't dare tease her.

Rebecca Baxter is as tough as nails.

And if she goes down, you're coming down with her.

I rise up from my soft bed, and notice that Liz and Macey have already gone to breakfast.

Liz is _here _because her bipolar personality disorder caused depression.

You wouldn't know this unless if you see her without her _façade._

She's full of energy, smiles, and giant bear hugs.

Loves animals, admires paintings, has a passion for writing and reading.

Probably the most genuinely naïve people I have ever met.

Not to mention out-of-this-world smart.

Einstein would be proud.

But some days, she sits in her bed, quiet as a mouse.

Only the nurses, as I like to call them, can knock her out of her _trance. _

Silence is **deadly. **

Macey McHenry, the newest member of our group, suffers from anorexia.

I doubt she'll eat breakfast today.

Or eat, in general.

Since she just came here, 3 months ago, she still hasn't recovered much from her fallout.

Macey is **blunt. **

Sarcastic.

Well, she seems that way.

She loves to joke around, talk to her friends, and act.

But her mom, actually, forced this self-image issue upon her.

Everyone has high hopes for her.

We walk into the "dining hall", and I immediately smell the wonderful, welcoming aroma of blueberry waffles.

"Your favorite, Cam. Can't say I'm disappointed, waffles are even better, if that's possible, than pancakes." Bex exclaims, grinning her million dollar smile at me.

I laugh, at her excitement.

It's true. For a "crazy people place" (Macey's words, not mine), they have fantastic food.

And Chef Louis knows how much I love my waffles.

I'm pretty sure that I'm his favorite patient here.

After getting our food, Bex and I head over to our usual table, where Macey, Liz, and some guys I've seen around are already seated.

"There you are!" Liz squeals.

"Do you know about the new guy?" Macey asks.

I shake my head.

She must be excited she's not the only rookie here.

"Well, he's not very friendly. I tried to talk to him, but he gave me a mean glare and walked off." A guy named Grant gossiped. I promise you, he's like a dramatic teenage girl.

(You can't sit with us.)

"Where's he at?" Bex questions, looking around for this mysterious, and apparently rude, guy.

Liz nods over to a table in the far corner, where a guy sits, alone, blankly staring at the wall.

"Maybe you shouldn't bash this guy yet, Grant. You never know what he has been through. Maybe he's just not used to socializing with others." I state, giving him a pointed look.

He throws his hands up in surrender, and I cluck my tongue.

"You know, he's kind of hot. In that rugged, handsome way." Macey says, and all of the girls at the table nod, including me.

He _is _pretty attractive.

"You guys want to go to the lounge room?" Liz asks.

The lounge room has all of the "fun" stuff.

Magazines, books, movies, video games, laptops.

But, of course, they filter out overly violent stuff.

According to your condition, and how long you've been here, you get assigned to different sections of the institution.

We are at the highest level, but none of us have left yet.

Occasionally, we'll have small breakdowns.

You have to go a full 6 months without one breakdown, and you cannot refuse medication.

On top of that, someone has to permit you out.

So I'm kind of stuck here for a while, at least until I turn eighteen.

I mean, I doubt no one would want to foster me.

Or adopt.

They want friendly, well rounded kids.

Never the damaged ones.

Macey grins widely at the new edition of the magazines, which happens to be the June issue of Vogue.

Bex challenges Grant to some video game I don't know the name of.

Liz makes a beeline towards the "library" section.

And I just sit there, on the couch.

Left alone to tend to my thoughts.

Until someone enters the room.

I hear whispers, and I see the judgmental looks given to the person.

I hate them.

All of them.

Yes, I know they're admitted here for a reason.

But this guy, who happens to be the new patient, is just like us.

He has a story.

"Don't you need to be in the rookie station?" Some buff boy asks, snottily.

Kind of stupid, if you ask me. The "rookie" is broader in the shoulders, taller, and more muscular than the boy.

And everyone else in this room.

The guy glares at him, and shoves past the boy, whose name I think is Jason.

Not that I care really.

He sits down on the couch in the corner, again **isolated** from everyone else.

I feel like history is repeating itself.

I was the kid who no one talked to.

I sat in the corner of the cafeteria for 6 whole years.

So I got up from my seat, and walked to where the guy was sitting.

"Hey," I begin, "My name is Cammie."

He looks up at me, and he gives a look of disgust.

"What's your name?" I ask.

I've heard to always start off small.

"Zach." He replies coldly.

Isn't he a ray of sunshine?

"It's nice to meet you, Zach, I'm sure you'll like it here. I've been here for four years. It is way better than school." I say politely.

He then gets up, and walk over to a different couch.

Can I get a sticker?

At least I tried.

**Please tell me your thoughts. I tried my best too, like Cammie. I'm going to slowly morph the romance into the story. Should I make the story have a sad or happy ending? Any ideas from those brilliant minds of yours? **

**Xoxo, **

**-JeTaime123**


	3. Chapter 3

**Honestly, I feel bad. I've been lazy and haven't updated. But thanks for all of the reviews! I almost wish I wrote this in 3****rd**** person. Too late now. Oh well!**

Zach still hasn't talked to anyone for the three days he has been here.

I wonder if he's, like, traumatized.

He eats alone. Anytime a person attempts to approach the table, he gives them a glare, and they walk away, quickly.

I've decided to try harder, though.

_He can't be that scary, right? _I think.

So as Macey and I walk to the Dining Hall, I've made up my mind to sit with him.

He can glare at me as much as he wants.

I never really had much experience with boys. I suppose I don't really stand out as much as all of the other girls like Bex, Macey, and Liz.

But, again, I don't mind. No one really ever paid much attention to me before I came here, unless if it was to say something cruel.

So after I pile scrambled eggs and bacon on my plate, and say bye to Macey, I walk over to "his" table and plop myself down on the seat.

Glare.

"Hey," I say, giving Zach a friendly smile.

Another glare.

I sigh, and try to start a conversation again. "How are you doing?"

He, instead of glaring, just looks at me like a piece of gum stuck on the bottom of his shoe.

Yeah, okay. Just give me the silent treatment.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I continue, "So….."

"Look, I really don't want to talk to you, or become friends. So leave. Don't try conversing with me again." He replies, in a deep, growling tone.

Well then.

"Uhhh, if you don't try to talk or at least make acquaintances here, you'll hate it more than you already do." I tell him, because it's true. At first, I didn't talk, and I was miserable. Finally I talked to Bex and Liz, and we joked around and got to know each other.

"I don't care. I'll be eighteen, in a few weeks, so as soon as they find out I'm not mental, then I can go." He answers.

I look down at my food, which is going cold, and pick up my plate while muttering a quick apology.

_Some people_, I figure, _just can't be bothered._

...

As the week rolls by, nothing really changes. Zach sits alone, I sit with my friends. Zach disappears after going into the lounge for a few minutes, and I listen to Liz drone on and on about the books she's read, or reading.

Until one day, on my way to the lounge, I bump into a wall.

Or, at least what I thought was a wall.

I wait for the fall that never comes, and look up to see Zach, as usual, glaring at me with a firm grip around my waist.

"Watch where you're going," he sneers, letting go of me.

But before he can walk off, I decide I'm tired about how cold he is, and grab onto his very muscular, might I add, forearm.

"Honestly," I start, "I'm trying my best to help, but you need to quit being so dang rude to people, and just talk to them. If the nurses notice you socializing, you're more likely to get out of this place quicker. You aren't better than anyone here, and you need to accept that. I don't know why you're here, but whatever it is doesn't give you the right to be mean."

He looks down at me, almost like he's surprised someone would ever confront him.

"Fine." He eventually muttered. "What do you want to know?"

"Depends," I say, pulling him into the lounge, "What do you want me to know?"

Zach just shrugs, and I ask, "Twenty questions?"

He nods, and I begin.

"What's your favorite color?"

He gives me an "are you kidding look" and says, "Green."

"Okay, now it's your turn." I say.

"Why do you want to get to know me?"

I think a bit, about how to restrain from giving off too much information that leads to the reason I'm here.

"You kind of remind me of myself, in a way, when I was in middle school. I sat alone by myself. And I also know there's more to a person than what meets the eye, so I wanted to get to know you. Not who you act like, but who you really are."

Zach smirks at me, and simply says, "That was deep."

And for the first time in a few days, I laugh.

Because it kind of was, really. I'm not going to lie.

And then we continue on, me asking him the silly little questions like, "What's your favorite food?" or, "Where were you born?.

He smiles, well smirks, some of the times, and chuckles the others.

I think I might've just made a new friend.

**Please be honest and tell me if this chapter was too cheesy. Also, I've gotten mixed reviews about the sad or happy ending. I don't know which to pick, so I was thinking maybe do both. Like a sweet ending, kind of sad, but kind of happy. Best of both worlds, right? **


End file.
